What Are the Top MBA Programs Looking for in a Candidate?

If you’re asking that question, you’ve probably already come to the realization that a degree from a top MBA program will help propel your career to new heights and that the contacts you’ll make at such a program will be incomparable. You’ve probably already considered the investment in time and money and the likely payoff down the road. Maybe you’ve even come to believe that there is no alternative for you. Harvard Business School or bust!

I remember walking around the halls in the Chicago office of McKinsey & Company, surrounded by products of elite MBA programs, and wondering what these people had in common. They were all fairly bright, energetic (some might call them intense), and were usually pretty good communicators. Leaders? Not everyone. It was certainly a diverse group of people. How do my perceptions of my colleagues mesh with the general preferences of admissions committees? Pretty well, actually.

There are five criteria to which admissions officers look when they are evaluating candidates for MBA programs. If you are seeking admittance to a top 20 school, you must meet these criteria. You don’t necessarily have to be a hotshot on each issue, but you probably have to stand out on at least one, if not more. The five criteria are: (1) academic performance and promise; (2) demonstrated leadership potential; (3) personal qualities and interpersonal relations; (4) oral communication; and (5) career direction and purpose.

Academics

The top schools want to make sure you can handle, and even excel, when confronted by their rigorous workload. Not every candidate is going to be a Baker Scholar (one of Harvard Business School’s top honors), but given the team-oriented and participatory nature of an MBA program, they don’t want you to drag your peers down. Your academic performance and potential will be determined by admissions officers looking at your undergraduate grades and your GMAT score.

Ideally you will have earned mostly A’s in a rigorous curriculum at a top school—e.g., a 3.8 in Economics at Dartmouth. You will also have excelled in quantitative classes and have taken several communications and intensive writing classes.

The average GMAT score at the top 20 schools is 697 (according to the 2004 US News Guide to Best Graduate Schools). If you break that 700 barrier, you are going to be able to minimize any damage your undergraduate GPA might do to your chances, especially if you have quality work experience. Generally speaking, if you are above 630, you are at least in the pool of acceptable candidates at the top 20 schools. This is not gospel, but our conversations with admissions officers suggest that though there is no magic number, they accept few candidates below the 620-640 range.

So how do schools weigh GMAT against GPA? There is not a sliding scale, per se, and some schools weigh one more strongly than the other. Other schools, e.g. the University of Chicago, explicitly state that they weigh each of them equally. Still, our experience is that the GMAT is slightly more important, especially as many MBA candidates are a number of years removed from their college experience.

Leadership

When telling the admissions committee about your experiences since college, leadership is the first and foremost quality you must demonstrate. That doesn’t mean managing a large division in a Fortune 500 company, nor even a formal leadership position. The average business analyst from a consulting firm or investment bank can be a solid candidate (although not a shoo-in) for business school, even after only 2-3 years, though they usually have not assumed a position of leadership. Those applicants must think a little harder about when they’ve exhibited leadership in less formal ways—how they've motivated clients to make significant changes, or become an office connectivity leader (boosting morale and bringing people together).

Another approach is to focus on leadership outside the workplace, such as in sports, non-profit work, or political activism. Community service leadership can make for a particularly compelling story for admissions officers, who tend to look favorably upon non-profits.

For more senior managers, it may actually be more critical that you nail the leadership factor. You have had more time to move up the ladder and admissions officers will expect more formal leadership roles on your resume.

Personal Qualities and Interpersonal Relations

The personal qualities criterion is rather vague. It is kind of a catch-all for those “plus” factors that can put you over the top or, by their absence, can sink you. Admissions officers are trying to put together an interesting and exciting group of future graduates, people who will not just "add" to the school while they are there, but will represent it well out in the “real world.” They want people who will bring a unique perspective to class and will have an impact on the world.

Unique perspectives come from a diverse class. Admissions officers are looking for diversity of geography, social status, work background, career interests, and yes, race and sex. Qualified female and minority candidates (particularly African-American and Hispanic) are highly sought-after applicants, as they remain a small fraction of the pool of overall applicants. Some schools lean more towards a quota system than others, though the recent University of Michigan cases will have an effect on that approach. Other schools look at minority status in a more informal way, but it clearly gives candidates a bump. International candidates are typically a huge part of the applicant pool and generally face a higher hurdle than U.S. applicants. At the same time, schools want to see a broad spectrum of engineers, scientists, consultants, non-profit workers, corporate managers, etc., in their classrooms. They want experienced managers and recent (2-years-out) college graduates. (Some schools are more friendly to younger applicants than others) The more you can make your case for uniqueness, the better off you are in the admissions game.

You also must demonstrate that you have had and will have impact on your community and the world. What is different at your company because you are an employee there? How have you affected the organizations in which you are involved? Have you been a Big Brother to a local youngster? Have you coached soccer at your old school? What have you done to make a difference? Moreover, what do you plan to do with your degree from Bigname B-school? Consider these questions and make sure you have the answer.

You must also be prepared to show how well you've worked in a team environment. In addition to wanting to accept students who will "add" to a class, the admissions committees want to accept people with whom others will want to work. Your essays must address your experiences with teams--and for many schools, teamwork is critical. It is not only for your MBA experience that committees are looking for good team players. They expect their graduates to excel in the better organizations in the "real world" and those companies put a lot of stock in the value of teams.

Communication Skills

At McKinsey, our clients told us that it was not for our supposed genius for problem solving that they hired us, but for our ability to communicate the solutions to those problems with clarity and confidence. Our executive clients could then own our joint solutions, syndicate them, and implement them. Just as McKinsey seeks top-notch communication skills in its hires, its "feeder" business schools make those skills a priority in admissions decisions.

Good business writing requires logical thinking and economy of words. You don't have to be the most fluent and flowery creative writer, nor even the most interesting. You must be able to organize your thoughts on paper and get your points across in clear, thoughtful prose. Your application essays must meet an even higher standard, however, as you have to convey the substance of your message but also keep your reader highly engaged. This is a difficult prospect and it is why the business school essay section remains the most challenging part of the application.

Your oral communication ability must show through in your interview. They are looking for positive and upbeat, confident and clear-minded candidates. The admissions officer or alumnus interviewing you will be thinking, "Would this prospective MBA student be okay in front of a group of executives giving a presentation?" More immediately, they will be thinking, "Will she be an active participant in class?" "Will she add value?" "Will she be able to inspire colleagues with her speaking ability and presence?" Be ready to wow them.

Career Focus

When we speak with admissions directors and officers, the most common advice passed along is, "Make sure your clients know why they want to get an MBA." (Some of them add, "at our school.") This is for two reasons. One, they want to admit students who really want to be there and are interested in being an active participant in the business school experience. They don't want to hear from professors that a student has rarely attended a class and never participated. Two, they want to admit students who will become successful graduates--and they believe success is more likely for those who have a plan.

Now don't worry too much--admissions committees understand that not everyone knows exactly what career they will pursue upon graduation three years hence. Admissions officers just want to know why an MBA will help you focus that career path. We cover this subject more heavily in our article on application strategies.

I know it seems like MBA programs are looking for superstars, and to some extent that's true. But you may be surprised at how well you could fit in at a top MBA program. Once you've considered these criteria, the next step is to determine how you can meet them and market yourself to the admissions committees.

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